Stew Langer says it’s an idea that’s been 20 years in the
making, one driven in large part by a growing interest in decorative glass
products.

Langer and his good friend, industry veteran Keith Elliott,
made their dream a reality this summer when they formed the consulting
group, Surface Elements LLC. They and a group of collaborating partners
with distinct technical expertise hope to bring their years of industry
knowledge on site to “advise and assist” glass shops and fabricators in
production of decorative products.

“It’s a whole lot easier to begin a business with little
overhead and with your knowledge as capital,” Langer says. “We’ve essentially
formed a consulting group helping out those folks who want to pay an expert
to come on-site to help.

“To the best of my knowledge, there is not another service
like this in the industry,” Langer says.

Langer and Elliott are both deeply connected and extremely
knowledgeable of the decorative glass field. Langer is the founder of
UroGlass Design LLC and general manager of Stained Glass & Design Co.
of Kansas City, Mo. Elliott founded both the Cast Products Group Inc.
and Coral Decorative Products Inc., while also serving as production manager
for both Joel Berman Glass Studios and UltraGlas.

The two men “bring to the table years of experience in cast
glass technique and mold making, glass paint and coatings process, lamination,
glass etching and carving, fusing glass slabs, edging, quality control
and more,” according to a company release.

“We think it’s a good move,” Elliott says. “What we offer
could put you in business a lot quicker, so, hopefully, there’s a need
for this sort of thing. It’s just one more thing to add to the repertoire
of things we do.”

The firm will offer assistance in equipment sourcing, set-up,
process, troubleshooting, sales, and scaling for optimum profitability
as part of its portfolio of services.

Chief among Elliott’s primary aims is to make the growing
field of decorative glass more affordable.

“The only way to do that is to have more people doing it,”
he says.

“I’m hoping we can really make a difference,” Elliott adds,
“and also enjoy ourselves because we like what we do.”

Pulp Studio Expands Privacy Glass Ops

Pulp Studio has a new 8,000-square-foot facility in Los
Angeles and will produce its Switchlite Privacy Glass at the new plant.

“We are transforming the privacy glass industry to become
more of a science and less of an art,” says company founder Bernard Lax.
“Our goal in opening this facility is to create standards with hard data,
and make sure that every piece of glass that leaves here meets those standards.”

Banom Receives Award for Cut-Resistant
Gloves

Banom, a manufacturer of cut-resistant gloves and safety
apparel in Malvern, Pa., and a DSM Dyneema global licensee, received the
Frost & Sullivan 2013 North American Product Leadership Award in cut-resistant
gloves. Banom’s gloves for workers in the glass and sheet metal industries
are constructed with proprietary high tenacity filament yarns incorporating
high-performance materials such as MaxPly® with Dyneema® and TriMax® with
Dyneema®.

According to the report, Banom not only uses innovative
yarns that protect against cutting hazards from knives, razor blades,
sheet metal and glass, they also demonstrate superiority over competing
products in the market in terms of dexterity, comfort and tactility. Special
coatings provide enhanced grip and reduce hand fatigue. Banom also received
praise for designing gloves for specific end uses and for employing application
testing for its gloves rather than a simple standard cut test, according
to an announcement.

Banom also received USGlass magazine’s 2013 Product of the
Year award for best safety product. Turn to page 84 to read more.